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How does it work?1.You supply a set of PGN files2.The program picks random positions from the PGN files and challenges you to guess the best move computed by a chess engine 3.On every attempt you are given a penalty (the difference in score between your move and the engine best)

The nice thing about this program is that you will also get very ordinary positions. Positions where not much is going on. If you compare your move with the moves of the game or the engine, you will find subtle differences in the evaluation of the moves. In this kind of positions, if you play moves that are 0.2 pawns worse than the best move, you will eventually lose against better players. That is exactly how this program can help you a great deal: it is as if a trainer is continually watching and commenting on you.

You can configure the program to work with multiple chess engines (it supports both the XBoard and UCI engine protocols).

Chess Hero main window

Click to enlarge

Above is a picture of the program main window. At the bottom right you can see my three attempts at the best move: •My first move was Nf2+, resulting in a penalty of 5.52 pawns. You can configure the program to accept moves below an arbitrary penalty threshold (by default it is set to 0.25 pawns). •Next I played h5, but that was another 7.07 penalty.•At last, I got it right with Qxd3.

You can greatly customize the program by simply feeding it different kinds of PGN files, such as: •Master games that match the openings you play•Your own games•Tactical positions from well-known collections•Games of your chess hero